17:00 Jeg har lidt feber og hoster meget. Jeg tager endnu 2 tabletter
paracetamol, sætter mig til rette i sofaen og ser lidt fjernsyn. De viser en underholdende
tv-quiz, Pointless.
Min ungarske veninde, Tünde, fortalte mig engang, at hun troede,
englænderne var meget mere intelligente end andre folk – hun vidste, at
Mensa-organisationen blev grundlagt i England. Selvfølgelig, det er indlysende!
Men jeg bemærker, at deltagerne i aftenens afsnit af Pointless, har svært ved
at svare nogle helt simple spørgsmål. De 6 deltagerne blev bedt om at nævne en
national hovedstad, hvor man fejrer nytåret enten samtidigt
med London eller senere, end London. De første 4 svar er alle urigtige: Belfast
(ikke en national hovedstad), Helsinki (den forkerte retning), New York, og Rio
de Janeiro (ikke nationale hovedstæder). Du godeste!
Men hvilket er
dummere – ikke at vide hovedstæderne af
nogle af verdens vigtigste lande, eller ikke at vide, at jorden roterer fra
vest til øst????
18:00 Jeg får en
email fra min amerikanske svoger, Steve. Han påpeger, at det i dag var for nøjagtig
1000 år siden, at danskeren Knud den Store blev kronet til Englands konge (den
6. januar 1017). Tusind års jubilæum – dette er hvad jeg kalder et jubilæum!
”VE-dagen fejrer
sit 50 års jubilæum, sit 60 års jubilæum, sit 70 års jubilæum osv” – disse
slags jubilæer er for slapsvanse – det ved jeg med sikkerhed!
Det er én af
Englandshistories største tragedier, at Knuds sønner og døtre alle døde snart
efter selve Knuds død. Det er muligt, at Knuds regeringstid kunne have
grundlagt en kommende fuldstændig politisk union mellem England og
Skandinavien. Vi ville ikke have skullet udholde nordmannernes autokratiske, feudale
system i de følgende 200 år.
18:30 Vi spiser aftensmad
og lytter lidt til radio, et interessant
program, ”The Last Word”. Vi
har for vane at høre dette program hver uge, fordi vi ønsker at finde ud af, om
nogen i de seneste 1-2 uger døde eller ej. Programmets vært er den charmerende
Matthew Bannister.
Jeg har før i tiden bemærket, at der i de fleste uger kun er ca. 5
dødsfald. Men denne uge har programmet et problem. I sidste uges ”specielle
udgave”, der var 2016s sidste, talte Matthew om hele årets ”bedste dødsfald”.
Desværre har denne kort forsinkelse forårsaget et efterslæb af døde
mennesker, der venter på, at deres liv bliver beskrevet. Der er dermed ikke nogen mangel af døde
personer at tale om i denne uge: George Michael, Carrie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds
og Henry Heimlich er de mest kendte.
Henry Heimlich opfandt Heimlichmanøvren, selvom han aldrig afprøvede den –
den var bare teoretisk for hans vedkommende! Jeg må indrømme, at jeg også
aldrig har været i en restaurant, hvor nogen kløjs i en mundfuld. Jeg har levet
et charmeret liv – det ved jeg med sikkerhed!
20:00 Vi tænder for fjernsynet og ser et underholdende program, ”The Good
Old Days”, et tv-program, der prøvede at genskabe stemningen af det gamle
vaudeville-teater. Programmet blev først udsendt i februar 1977. Lois og jeg
havde dengang kun én datter, Alison (18 mdr), og Lois var 5 mdr gravid med
Sarah, vores yngste datter. Du godeste,
lykkelige dage !!!
For vores vedkommende, er showets højdepunkt (som altid), den letpåklædte
franske kvinde, der går i gang med noget stortslående akrobatik på toppen af en
20-fods lang stang, holdt af hendes partner midt i teatrets dyreste pladser
(bortset fra logerne!). Showets publikum ser lidt bekymret ud under numret –
det var oprindeligt udsendt direkte live – men heldigvis er der ikke nogle
uheld, gudskelov.
21:00 Jeg har det ikke ret godt, og jeg beslutter at gå tidligt i seng
igen. Lois vil sove i Sarahs gamle værelse, så jeg ikke forstyrrer hende ved at
hoste meget.
Jeg synes, at ét af mine symptomer er et slags mildt delirium. Når jeg
ligger inde i sengen, går den samme gamle sang rundt og rundt i mit hoved, ”My
Conviction”, en sang jeg ikke har tænkt på i 50 år. Hver gang jeg siger sangens
tekst til mig selv, glemmer jeg altid én eller anden linje, selvom jeg finder
ud af, jeg på én eller anden grund faktisk kender hele teksten udenad:
”Iwouldjustliketosaythatitismyconviction, Thatlongerhairandotherflamboyantaffectations,
Ofappearancearenothingmore, Thanthemale'semergencefromhisdrabcamoflage,
Intothegaudyplumage
Whichis thebirthrightofhissex,
Thereisapeculiarnotionthatelegantplumage
Andfinefeathersarenotproperforthemale,
Whenac---tually,
Thatisthewaythingsare,
Inmostspecies”
Du godeste! God bedring, Colin!!!!
Lois og jeg så musicalen Hair i 1969 i London lige efter vi blev kærester,
men heldigvis sad vi i nogle af teatrets billigste pladser, så vi ikke måtte
udholde at kigge på nøgne kroppe på nært hold – hurra!
04:00 Jeg står tidligt op. Jeg synes, det er en god idé at stå op på trods
af sygdom og gøre noget interessant, hvis man føler, at man kan gøre det uden
at blive for træt.
Jeg kigger lidt på Facebook og jeg ser, at Francis, vores svigersøn i
Perth, har oplagt nogle charmerende fotoer af vores yngste datter, Sarah, og
parrets 3-årige tvillinger. Det ser ud
til, at familien nu er kommet hjem efter deres 1-uges vejetur i det sydvestlige
Australien og har i dag besøgt Yanchep-nationalparken, som Lois og jeg besøgte
i juni sammen med Sarah og vores to børnebørn.
Sarah og vores børnebørn på Yanchep-nationalparken,
som
Lois og jeg for 7 måneder siden besøgtede
Francis siger, at tvillingerne husker, at de for 7 måneder siden besøgte
parken sammen med os – hvor er de dog søde!!!!
10:00 Lois går i bad og står op. Vi spiser morgenmad.
11:00 Jeg går i seng i et par timer. Lois går hen ind i landsbyen. Hun
smutter ind i Bakery Stores, den lokale nærbutik for at købe et par ting. Hun
kommer hjem.
13:00 Vi spiser frokost og bagefter går jeg i seng igen for at tage mig en
gigantisk eftermiddagslur – zzzzz!!!!
16:00 Jeg står op og vi slapper af med en kop te i sofaen. Det er en
kedelig ting at være syg. Jeg må lige have tålmodighed og venter på, at jeg
kommer mig – uha!
English translation
17:00 I have a little fever and I
am coughing a lot. I take 2 tablets of paracetamol, settle down on the sofa and
watch a little television. They show an entertaining TV quiz, Pointless.
My Hungarian friend, Tünde, once
told me that she thought the English were much more intelligent than other
people - she knew that the Mensa organization was founded in England. Of
course, it's obvious!
But I notice that the
participants in tonight's episode of Pointless, have difficulty answering some
very simple questions. The 6 participants were asked to name a national capital
where they celebrate the New Year either at the same time as London or later
than London. The first four answers are all incorrect: Belfast (not a national
capital), Helsinki (wrong direction), New York and Rio de Janeiro (not national
capitals). My God!
But which is more stupid - not
knowing the capitals of some of the world's most important countries, or not
knowing that the earth rotates from west to east ????
18:00 I get an email from my
American brother-in-law, Steve. He points out that today it was exactly 1,000
years ago, that the Dane, Canute, was crowned King of England (6 January 1017).
A thousand year anniversary - that is what I call an anniversary!"
VE Day is celebrating its 50th
anniversary, its 60th anniversary, its 70th anniversary, etc." - these
kinds of anniversaries are for wimps - I know that for sure!
It is one of English history's
greatest tragedies that Canute's sons and daughters all died soon after
Canute's death. It is possible that Canute's reign could have established a future
complete political union between England and Scandinavia. We would not have had
to endure the Normans' autocratic feudal system for the following 200 years.
18:30 We have dinner and listen
to some radio, an interesting program, "The Last Word". We have the
habit of listening to this program every week because we want to find out if
anyone in the last 1-2 weeks has died or not. The program's host is the
charming Matthew Bannister.
I have noted in the past that in
most weeks there are only about 5 deaths. But this week, the program has a
problem. In last week's "special edition", which was 2016's last,
Matthew talked about the year's "best deaths".
Unfortunately, this short delay
caused a backlog of dead people who are waiting for their lives to be
described. There is thus no shortage of dead people to talk about this week:
George Michael, Carrie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds and Henry Heimlich are the best
known.
Henry Heimlich invented the Heimlich
manoeuvre, although he never tried it out - it was just theoretical in his
case! I must admit that I have never been in a restaurant where someone is
choking on a mouthful of food. I have lived a charmed life - that I know for sure!
20:00 We turn on the television
and see an entertaining program, "The Good Old Days", a television
program that tried to recreate the atmosphere of the old vaudeville theater.
The program was first broadcast in February 1977. Lois and I had at that time
only one daughter, Alison (18 months), and Lois was 5 months pregnant with
Sarah, our youngest daughter. My god, happy days !!!
For our part, the show's
highlight is (as always) the scantily clad Frenchwoman who embarks on some
big-hitting acrobatics atop a 20-foot long pole, held by her partner in the
middle of the theater's most expensive seats (apart from the boxes!) . The
show's audience look a little worried during the act - it was originally
broadcast live - but fortunately there are no accidents, thank God.
21:00 I do not feel very well,
and I decide to go to bed early again. Lois will sleep in Sarah's old room, so
I do not disturb her by coughing a lot.
I think that one of my symptoms
is a kind of mild delirium. When I am lying in the bed, the same old song goes
round and round in my head, "My Conviction," a song I have not
thought of for 50 years. Every time I say the song's lyrics to myself, I always
forget one or other line, even though I find out that for some reason I actually
know the whole text by heart: "Iwouldjustliketosaythatitismyconviction,
Thatlongerhairandotherflamboyant affectations, Ofappearancearenothingmore,
Thanthemale'semergencefromhisdrabcamoflage,
Intothegaudyplumage
Whichis thebirthrightofhissex,
Thereisapeculiarnotionthatelegantplumage
Andfinefeathersarenotproperforthemale,
Whenac --- tually,
Thatisthewaythingsare
Inmostspecies "
My God! Get well soon, Colin !!!!
Lois and I saw the musical Hair in
London in 1969 just after we became an item, but fortunately we sat in some of
the theater's cheapest seats, so we did not have to put up with looking at
naked bodies at close range - hurrah!
04:00 I get up early. I think
it's a good idea to get up despite illness and do something interesting if you
feel you can do it without getting too tired.
I look a bit at Facebook and I
see that Francis, our son-in-law in Perth, has uploaded some charming photos of
our youngest daughter, Sarah, and the couple's 3-year-old twins. It seems that
the family has now come back from their 1-week road-trip in southwestern
Australia, and today visited Yanchep National Park, which Lois and I visited in
June together with Sarah and our two grandchildren.
Sarah and our grandchildren at Yanchep
National Park,
which Lois and I visited 7 months ago.
Francis says that the twins
remember that they visited the park with us in June - they are so cute !!!!
10:00 Lois takes a shower and
gets up. We eat breakfast.
11:00 I go to bed for a few
hours. Lois goes into the village. She pops into the Bakery Stores, the local
convenience store, to buy a few things. She comes home.
13:00 We eat lunch and then I go
back to bed to take a gigantic afternoon nap - zzzzz !!!!
16:00 I get up and we relax with
a cup of tea on the sofa. It is a boring thing to be sick. I must just be
patient and wait till I come to myself - oh dear!
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